RIDGEWOOD — The Village Council is considering limiting the hours when businesses in the downtown can receive deliveries. While still a discussion at this point, the idea is receiving push-back from business owners.

One suggestion on the table is prohibiting deliveries from 10 a.m. until 10 p.m. and putting a weight limit of 18,000 pounds on trucks. No formal ordinance has been drafted.

Mayor Ramon Hache, the Central Business District Advisory Committee liaison, said the council’s discussion comes in response to years of complaints by some business owners.

A delivery truck parked on Chestnut Street in the Ridgewood downtown in the early afternoon.(Photo11: Meghan Grant)

“That’s really where the awareness came from, other owners saying, ‘This is getting out of hand.' Our downtown is not built to handle 18-wheelers dropping stuff off and blocking on-street parking,” Hache said.

There are not many options in the downtown for communal unloading spaces, and many stores don’t have rear parking lots or other access points that can accommodate a large truck, he added.

“Double-parking is a huge issue” in the downtown,” Luthcke said, adding that distracted drivers on cellphones, using GPS and searching for parking compound the issue. “It’s a very dangerous situation.”

Business owners on Jan. 30 implored the council to learn more about the downtown’s logistics before acting.

Michael Elias, owner of Ice Cream by Mike, said he doesn’t even open until 11 a.m.

“You have to do your due diligence of understanding what the vendors need and what the vendors can do,” Elias said. “The Police Department has a public safety concern, and that’s their concern. Us vendors have a revenue concern and have a business to run.”

Close to 10 deliveries serve Raymond’s restaurant, including two bread routes, dairy and produce, fish and even “a pickle guy,” said owner Joanne Ricci. Deliveries depend on the availability of suppliers.

“I understand it is a lot, and I also understand the retailers absolutely need to have parking accessible," Ricci said.

“Rather than limiting hours, which would be disastrous for us, you look for places that could be made loading zones on each block, on the side streets, where it could be convenient enough for us to get our deliveries,” she said.

A delivery truck parked on Oak Street in the RIdgewood downtown in the early afternoon.(Photo11: Meghan Grant)

Councilman Mike Sedon said, “I think we have to get more information and look at this to see if there is maybe a designated spot where they could go that is the safest. Because a blanket ban from 10 to 10 on deliveries could be exceedingly onerous.”